A Brief History of A.C. Gilbert Erector - Girders & Gears A Brief History of A.C. Gilbert Erector 1913-1923: STYLE (TYPE) I PERIOD A.C. Gilbert markets his first construction set under the name "Erector" in 1913. Sets produced during this period were characterized by their wide, 1¼-inch girders and cardboard or unpainted wooden boxes. 1924-1932: CLASSIC PERIOD Perhaps the greatest period of Erector glory. Sets produced during this period were characterized by their narrower (5/8-inch) redesigned girders, wooden cases (painted red beginning in 1928), and new parts and pieces. Most sets were designed to build specific models, such as the Steam Shovel, White Truck, Ferris Wheel, Zeppelin, and Hudson Locomotive and Tender. 1933-1945: TRANSITION PERIOD This period was marked by a change from wooden cases to painted metal cases.

1946-1962: RENAISSANCE PERIOD The post-war period during which I, as well as many of you, were first introduced to the Erector Set. The bright red cases typical of this period have become an icon to many of us Baby Boomers, and even to some of our younger "Generation Jones" siblings. From the A. C. Gilbert Heritage Society Web Site: Let me tell you a little about the history of Erector. A.C Gilbert started the Mysto Magic Co. in 1909. In 1913 he developed the Erector set. At this time there were several construction toys out. The most prominent was the Meccano construction toy developed by Hornby in England. It was made up of pulleys, gears, and several 1/2" wide strips of varying length with holes evenly spaced on them. These sets were very popular. Gilbert needed something unique. What he created was the square girder. Gilbert's Erector sets had pulleys, gears, and several 1" wide strips with triangles cut in them and the edges bent over.

This allowed for 4 strips to be put together with 2 screws to form a very sturdy square girder. The sets were numbered 1 to 8 according to size. The smaller set were in cardboard boxes with the larger sets in wooden boxes. The smallest of the largest sets had a DC motor included in them. The most you could build with these sets were structures: buildings, bridges, and etc. The next change came in 1924. The Girders went from 1" to 1/2". This allowed for small curved girders to be used in more impressive models. Trucks, ferriswheels, zeppelins, and many other action models could be built. In 1931 he came out with the Erector Hudson and Tender. A very impressive model. In the mid 30's the wooden boxes were dropped for metal boxes. In 1940 he came out with the Parachute Jump. Another interesting thing happened in the 40's. A war was on and there was a lack of metal. Gilbert developed wooden girders. These are rare today. In 1950 he came out with the Amusement Park set.

This set had a great little model, the merry-go-round. By this time the largest set was the 12 1/2. Another big seller of Gilbert was American Flyer trains. They were really big in the 50's. About this time the Gilbert Co. got computerized, therefore you start seeing sets numbered like 10093 instead of 12 1/2. By the late 50's A.C. Gilbert Sr. had turned the company over to his son, A.C. Gilbert Jr.. In 1961 Gilbert Sr. died. In 1965 the company was bought by the Gabriel Co. This was just a brief history of Erector. Every decade had something unique that happened to the Gilbert company. With the summer Olympics in Atlanta, GA in 1996 it is worthy to note that Gilbert won a gold medal for pole vaulting in the 1908 Olympics in England. Erector & Meccano History by Robert Lian Being a short history of the intertwining of the two major metal construction toys sold in the US for many years.

Several people have asked me over the last few years if Erector sets are still made. My answer has always been: "Well, Yes and No." People much younger than myself (47 years) do not remember the bright red metal boxes of A. C. Gilbert's New Erector of the post WW II era. Even fewer people in the US remember Meccano sets. Meccano was the first metal toy construction set of any note sold in the western hemisphere. It was first produced about 1900 in England by Frank Hornby. It consisted of (and still consists of) metal strips of various lengths with equally spaced holes in them so they can be connected by nuts and bolts. Erector was first produced by A. C. Gilbert about 1913 and consisted of metal toy girders with a lip on the edge of the girder which gave it the capability of making a square girder. Gilbert also included an electric motor in many of his sets - He was apparently the first to do this. Both toys competed for the American toy construction market from 1913 on, along with a few others most notably American Model Builder.

(AMB went out of business about 1920 due to litigation with Meccano.) Erector held the majority of the American market in the 1920's. I have heard various figures anywhere from 60-80%. In the 1920's Meccano was being produced under license in Elizabeth, NJ. Around 1930 Gilbert purchased the rights to produce Meccano in the US and moved the manufacturing of Meccano to New Haven, Connecticut alongside his Erector manufacturing plant. Meccano continued to be marketed and sold outside the US by Hornby's England manufacturing plant. The Meccano sets produced in the US from 1930 - 1938 are often called Gilbert - Meccano sets and featured many obsolete Erector parts. I do not know why, but after 1938 Gilbert seems to have stopped manufacturing Meccano. Soon WW II was going to stop all steel toy manufacturing. After WW II Gilbert resumed manufacturing Erector sets (but not Meccano). Meccano seemed to be imported into the US in some very limited quantity and started showing up in Sears catalogs about 1960.

In 1961 A. C. Gilbert died. In order to settle estate taxes his majority holding in the company that bore his name was sold off. Although A. C.'s son remained as head of the company, the real power rested with the new majority owners who had big ideas about the direction that Erector and the A. C. Gilbert company's other toys should take. By 1966 the A. C. Gilbert toy company was bankrupt. The A. C. Gilbert and Erector names were acquired by Gabriel Toys, then Ideal Toys and went through several other hands before the Erector name was eventually purchased by Meccano in the late 1980's. I'm sure A. C. Gilbert is still spinning in his grave at about the speed of light. The original Meccano plant in England closed its doors in the late 1970's but Meccano continued to be manufactured by a plant in Calais, France. Meccano SA France was purchase by Nikko Toys, Japan in May 2000. In the early 1990's Meccano started selling its sets in the US as Erector sets.

Those sets are just Meccano sets with the Erector name and have been imported by Irwin Toys. About 1999 Irwin decided to stop importing Meccano-Erector into the US except for the plastic Erector Junior. You can still find some of the metal Meccano-Erector sets at Toys R Us, most recently the Millennium Set, but basically no other new sets are due to be imported. What will Nikko do? They are not saying, so only time will tell. This information has been gathered from a number of different sources most notably Bill Bean's two volumes on Erector Sets. Any mistakes are mine, and I welcome any constructive input. A History of Toys A BRIEF HISTORY OF TOYS By Tim Lambert Early Toys Before the 20th century children had few toys and those they did have were precious. Furthermore children did not have much time to play. Only a minority went to school but most children were expected to help their parents doing simple jobs around the house or in the fields. Egyptian children played similar games to the ones children play today.

They also played with toys like dolls, toy soldiers, wooden animals, ball, marbles, spinning tops and knuckle bones (which were thrown like dice). In Ancient Greece when boys were not at school and girls were not working they played ball games with inflated pig's bladders. They also played with knuckle bones. Children also played with toys like spinning tops, dolls, model horses with wheels, hoops and rocking horses. Roman children played with wooden or clay dolls and hoops. They also played ball games and board games. They also played with animal knuckle bones. Toys changed little through the centuries. In the 16th century children still played with wooden dolls. (They were called Bartholomew babies because they were sold at St Bartholomew's fair in London). They also played cup and ball (a wooden ball with a wooden cup on the end of handle. You had to swing the handle and try and catch the ball in the cup). The first dolls house was made in Germany in 1558. Then in 1693 the English philosopher John Locke said that 'dice and playthings' with letters on them would help children to learn the alphabet.

Modern Toys The industrial revolution allowed toys to be mass produced and the gradually became cheaper. John Spilsbury made the first jigsaw puzzle in 1767. He intended to teach geography by cutting maps into pieces but soon people began making jigsaws for entertainment. The Kaleidoscope was invented in 1817. In 1693 the philosopher John Locke said that 'dice and playthings' with letters on them would help children to learn the alphabet. In 1882 Adeline Whitney patented alphabet blocks. In the 19th century middle class girls played with wood or porcelain dolls. They also had dolls houses, model shops and skipping ropes. Boys played with toys like marbles and toy soldiers as well as toy trains. (Some toy trains had working engines fueled by methylated spirits). They also played with toy boats. However poor children had few toys and often had to make their own. In a well off 19th century family children played with rocking horses and clockwork toys like moving animals. Clockwork trains were also popular. So was the jack-in-the-box. Simple toys like spinning tops were also popular.

So were hoops and games like knuckle bones and pick up sticks in which you had to pick up colored sticks from a pile without disturbing the others. On Sundays children often played with toys with a religious themes like Noah's arks with wooden animals. Children also loved magic lantern (slide) shows and puppet shows. Life in the 19th Century Many new toys were invented in the 20th century. Plasticine was invented in 1897 by William Harbutt. It was first made commercially in 1900. Also in 1900 Frank Hornby invented a toy called meccano. Other popular toys in the early 20th century were tin cars. In the 1920s train sets became very popular. Soft toys also became common in the early 20th century including teddy bears. During World War II most toy factories were turned over to war production. However in the late 20th century with the arrival of an affluent society plastic and metal toys became much cheaper and much more common. In the 1950s Lego became a popular toy. Mr Potato Head was invented in 1952. The skateboard was invented in 1958.

Barbie dolls were invented in 1959 and Action Man went on sale in Britain in 1966. In the early 1970s space hoppers and clackers were popular toys. At the end of the 20th century computer games became very popular. Among modern toys the tamagotchi was invented in 1996 and the furby went on sale in 1998. The Classic Meccano Toy Set Gets A 21st Century Spin | Co.Design | business + design The Classic Meccano Toy Set Gets A 21st Century Spin Since its invention in 1900, kids have loved playing with the Meccano construction set. Now one of those kids has imaginatively redesigned it. 01 /11 Since he was a child, Dutch designer Tomm Velthuis has been obsessed with Meccano, a toy set consisting of colorful metal plates, angle girders, and pulleys that can be assembled and reassembled with nuts and bolts.

02 /11 Today, Velthuis has reimagined the original Meccano, invented in 1900 by British designer Frank Hornby, with a project called Meekaanoo. 03 /11 Instead of making pieces that fit sensibly together and form recognizable machines and structures, as in the original Meccano set, Meekanoo’s pieces are intentionally impractical, unorthodox, and ill-fitting. 04 /11 Building with them creates abstract, colorful sculptures resembling Alexander Calder mobiles or Rube Goldberg machines. 05 /11 “It's more an art piece than a product,” Velthuis tells Co.Design. 06 /11 “But that fine line between art and design is, for me, the most interesting.” 07 /11 Velthuis was inspired by a fascination with "functionless" products. 08 /11 "Something that looks like a thing you can use, but doesn't work makes your mind go 'huh,' and grabs your attention,” Velthuis says.

09 /11 With Meekaanoo, he aims “to bring back fantasy and imagination into our high-speed, pragmatic lives.” 10 /11 The sculptures can be broken down into their basic pieces and reassembled, encouraging adults to play, and functioning as quirky decorations for the home. 11 /11 "Meekaanoo" is on view at Self Unself at the Collective Design Fair in New York, an exhibit of work from Design Academy Eindhoven, from May 8 to 11. Slide Show: 11 images Designing The World’s Most Secure Chat App What Did Obama Do As POTUS? This Interactive Tests Your Assumptions This Old Industrial District In Finland Is Transforming Into A Sustainable Village 100 Years Of Infographics From National Geographic Carey Dunne 05.06.14 8:00 AM Since he was a child, Dutch designer Tomm Velthuis has been obsessed with Meccano, a toy set consisting of colorful metal plates, angle girders, and pulleys that can be assembled and reassembled with nuts and bolts.

Today, Velthuis has reimagined the original Meccano, invented in 1900 by British designer Frank Hornby, with a project called Meekaanoo. Instead of making pieces that fit sensibly together and form recognizable machines and structures, as in the original Meccano set, Meekanoo’s pieces are intentionally impractical, unorthodox, and ill-fitting. Building with them creates abstract, colorful sculptures resembling Alexander Calder mobiles or Rube Goldberg machines. "It's more an art piece than a product," Velthuis tells Co.Design. "But that fine line between art and design is, for me, the most interesting." Photo by Tim Stet That fine line between art and design is, for me, the most interesting. Velthuis was inspired by a fascination with "functionless" products. "Something that looks like a thing you can use, but doesn't work, makes your mind go 'huh,' and grabs your attention," Velthuis says.

With Meekaanoo, he aims "to bring back fantasy and imagination into our high-speed, pragmatic lives." The sculptures can be broken down into their basic pieces and reassembled, encouraging adults to play, and functioning as quirky decorations for the home. "Meekaanoo" is on view at Self Unself at the Collective Design Fair in New York, an exhibit of work from Design Academy Eindhoven, from May 8 to 11. Slideshow Credits: 04 / Tim Stet; 05 / Tim Stet; 06 / Tim Stet; 07 / Tim Stet; 08 / Tim Stet; 09 / Tim Stet; 10 / Tim Stet; 11 / Tim Stet; Never miss a story. Made Up in Britain: Meccano : Frank Hornby 1901 Made Up in Britain 21 September 1936 | Age 73 Invented Is one of the world's most popular toys.

Frank Hornby 1901 Hornby was born on 15 May 1863 in Liverpool Lancashire , England and was the son of John Oswald Hornby, and his wife Martha Thomlinson. Contents Rags to Riches On 15 January 1887 he married a schoolteacher Clara Walker Godefroy, they had two sons, Roland and Douglas, and a daughter, Patricia. Hornby began experimenting with ideas in his home workshop making toys for his sons in 1899 with pieces he cut from sheet metal. Dad and Toys He built models of bridges, trucks and cranes, although the pieces they were made from were not interchangeable. The breakthrough came when Hornby realised that if he could make separate, interchangeable parts that could be bolted together, any model could be built from the same components. Big Ben Elizabeth tower The key inventive step was when he used regular perforations in the structural pieces that could be used to join them together with nuts and bolts. By the end of 1900 Hornby had built a set of parts he considered worth marketing.

Patent 1901 On advice, he patented his invention in January 1901 as "Improvements in Toy or Educational Devices for Children and Young People", but not without first having to borrow five pounds from his employer, David Elliot, to cover the costs. His employer saw potential in what Hornby was doing and offered him some vacant premises next to the office where he worked to pursue his ideas. With this move, Elliot and Hornby became partners. Into Production With the financial assistance of his partner, "Mechanics Made Easy" sets went on sale in 1902. Each set had only 16 different parts with a leaflet detailing the construction of 12 models. In 1903, 1,500 sets were sold, although no profit was made. New parts were continually being introduced and in 1904, six sets, packed in tin boxes with instruction manuals in French and English, became available. In 1905 two new sets were introduced and in 1906, for the first time, a small profit was made.

Meccano is Born In September 1907, Hornby registered his famous "Meccano" trade mark and used this name on all new sets. In order to raise more capital to invest in a larger factory and plant, a company had to be created. This led to the formation of Meccano Ltd on 30 May 1908. Elliot had decided not to join the new company, leaving Hornby as the sole proprietor. The Meccano factory was relocated to West Derby Road in Liverpool, and in 1910 the famous "MECCANO" logo was commissioned. Meccano Ltd's turnover for the 1910 financial year was 12,000 pounds. Rags to Riches By the 1930s, Hornby had become a millionaire. He owned a mansion and was chauffeured to Binns Road every day by limousine. British Inventions Discoveries Creations and Innovations :: MUIB :: Page was generated in 0.4361 seconds Page: Meccano:: Total hits: 14146 Made up in Britain. Who Invented?

Definition: Invention From the latin verb 'invenire', 'invent' to find. An act or the action of finding or finding out; discovery. The Meccano Magazine | CultureShock The Meccano Magazine This story has been viewed 10711 times Summary John's story is about the Meccano Magazine, which he read regularly as a boy. By John D Watson Get Adobe Flash Video transcript The Meccano Magazine. Like many boys who grew up in the nineteen-forties and fifties, I owe a lot to the genius of Frank Hornby who around 1900 invented the toy that came to be known as Meccano. The company he set up in Liverpool also produced Hornby trains and, from the 1930s, Dinky Toys. The company started to produce the "Meccano Magazine" in 1916. At first this consisted essentially of promotional literature for the company's products but other material was gradually added, consisting mainly of articles on technical subjects such as railways, shipping, aviation, and bridge-building.

I took the Meccano Magazine each month from 1946 to 1955, and my Meccano models gradually became more elaborate during that time. My interest received a boost in about 1950 when I was given a large quantity of pre-war Meccano parts by a friend of the family. The same person also gave me a number of pre-war copies of the Meccano Magazine. These were quite a revelation: the copies I was used to consisted of 50 or 60 pages measuring about 8in by 6in but the pre-war issues typically had about 80 pages which were twice the size of those in the postwar version (and all for 6d per copy). The February 1935 issue is a typical example of the "golden age" of the magazine. It included articles on silk screen colour printing, hydro-electric plant, table-top photography, monoplanes, exploring in Africa, locomotive turntables, and the Belah viaduct. Regular features included engineering news, air news, railway news, books to read, competitions, a page of jokes, and stamp collecting.

There were also, of course, articles on Meccano model construction and Hornby trains. The magazine also served to record the activities of the Meccano Guild and the Hornby Railway Company, each of which had branches all around the British Isles and a number overseas. Some of these branches were quite large, with dozens of members - all of whom were naturally regular purchasers of the company's products. In the postwar period the branches were less active than they had been before the war and although some of my friends were Meccano enthusiasts there was no branch in West Hartlepool where I lived. The Meccano company went into decline in the 1960s and the Liverpool factory closed in 1979. The Meccano Magazine inevitably ceased publication. Products bearing the Meccano name are still made in other countries but bear little relationship to those developed by Frank Hornby. I suppose that my own career as a mechanical engineer must owe something to Meccano products and the Meccano Magazine, but it is difficult to gauge how much I was influenced by them.

Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that the forces which later led me to take up engineering were the same forces which had drawn me to Meccano as a boy. Meccano-Hornby- The Products of Binns Road Bayko 1901 - 1908 Mechanics Made Easy Meccano was invented by Frank Hornby a Liverpool office worker. He had been making metal models for his two sons in his garden shed. However he realized that if he used strips perforated with holes at a set distance and a system of standard size clips or bolts to make up a model then that model could be taken apart and used in another model. Hornby eventually settled on strips of 3 sizes, 2.5, 5.5 and 12.5 inches long with a hole every half inch. 8 Gauge wire served as Axle Rods followed by clips, angle brackets and wheels. By 1900 Frank Hornby had enough pieces to consider marketing his idea. Interestingly most of the models that Frank Hornby envisioned for his new Educational Toy as he saw it where connected to railways, however non railway Bridges and Cranes where an option.

By 1901 a 18 page instruction book had been prepared with the title, 'Mechanics Made Easy - An Adaptable Mechanical Toy'. The 'toy,' being primarily aimed at parents who wanted to broaden there child's education. In fact Mechanics Made Easy was the original name, the name Meccano was not introduced until 1907. The Original Box contained a very limited variety of parts in comparison to later Meccano, just containing 3 size of perforated strips, 12.5 inch, 5.5 inch and 2.5 inch actually having 12 of each. The sizes will be very familiar to later Meccano users being the main sizes throughout Meccano's history, however the actual parts where different being thin metal folded at the edges to give it strength. The next part was an angle bracket, the original was crude but the design of the later angle bracket can be seen, the box contained 18 of these. Next came 3 sizes of Axle Rods, 12 inch, 5 inch and 2 inch, these unlike most later rods where grooved to take keys to lock wheels.

The box contained 1 of the largest axle and 2 each of the others. The Box had a crank handle also grooved. Wheels consisted of 5 flanged and grooved wheels, perhaps the part most influenced by railways and a bush wheel. After this there was a spanner, 12 keys for locking wheels and axles, which can best be described as extended spring clips and a screwdriver. Then the parts Meccano would be useless without 48 nuts and bolts. The set was completed with a hank of cord and a wire hook. Although we have not as yet been able to find a manual as far back as this, it is very likely the earliest manual would be similar to models 1 to 10 of the 1904 manual. It is noticeable that a lot of the models where railway related, however with the 12.5 inch strips quite large models could be made as shown by models 9 & 10 the crane and the warehouse. The contents did not change through 1902 the first full year of the set, However in 1903 the first changes came in the the number of flanged and grooved wheels where reduced to 4.

To replace these 2 1 inch pulleys where introduced, a half inch 20 tooth pinion was introduced along with a pawl. The nuts and bolts where increased to 50, an extra Hank of Cord was added. By 1904 the number of parts where expand and new sets where introduced adding sets B & C. The sets where so organized by building larger sets on the smaller ones. In other words Set B contained all the parts of set A the original Box plus more parts, set C contained all the parts of set B plus extras. This meant that a purchaser of Set C could also make all the models from sets A & B. Also it meant that conversion sets could be marketed adding the extra parts for the larger set. By 1904 conversion sets A1, B1 and curiously C1 where marketed.Sets D and E where added late in 1905. Set B introduced an extra perforated strip at 3.5 inch, 2 new sizes of axle rod 6 inches long and a 3.25 inch a curious size which was later lengthened to 3.5 inches.

A new 1.5 inch pulley along with several gears, a 25 tooth 0.75 inch pinion, a 50 tooth 1.25 inch gear wheel, a 25 tooth 0.75 inch contrate wheel and a worm wheel, all these where key fitting. A ball or card of cord, a single bent strip and a 2.5 x 1 inch double angle strip at the time called a large bent strip. Finally some wood screws where included to bolt the model to a wood base where necessary. unusually for the largest set, set C had only one extra new part a 3 inch perforated strip. 1905 saw the introduction of set D and a conversion set to set E which was not introduced until 1906. Set D added 2 new perforated strips a 9.5 inch and a 2 inch, a free running 0.5 inch pulley and a 50 toothed 1.7 inch contrate wheel, The final introduction was this curious Sheet of Xylonite a very early plastic, Set E's only introduction was a 12ft Chain.

In 1906 the original Box A was no longer the smallest set, a much smaller X outfit. This had reduced parts on the A for example it had 4 12.5 inch perforated strips compared to Box A's 13 the year before, and 26 nuts and bolts compared to 50 in Box A. The larger sets where unchanged. In similar vain 1907 saw the introduction of an even smaller set called Kindergarten with just 10 nuts and bolts, its name would suggest that it was aimed at younger children with a special manual which was easy to understand. However a piece that would become a mainstay of later Meccano the 12.5 inch angle girder, this like the strips where made with tinplate and folded edges. 1906-8 saw the introduction of parts that would become familiar to Meccano users for generations to come the folded perforated strips where replaced with a thicker nickel plated strip as was the angle girders by 1908, whilst grooved rods where fazed out in favour whole rods whilst the longest rods where shortened from 12 inches to 11.5 inches.

By the end of the Mechanics Made Easy Period, things had come a long way in 7 years from a box of crude strips and wheels, to Nickel strips and Angle Girders, Pinions, gear, contrate and worm wheels had been introduced. There was still a long way to go but many of the basic Meccano pieces that would be used for more than a 100 years had arrived. Sets had gone from the original box to a range of sets some smaller than the original but 3 much larger sets, capable of making some very large models. Meccano Periods Life in 1914 LIFE IN BRITAIN IN 1914 By Tim Lambert PART ONE: THE MIDDLE CLASS IN 1914 Middle Class Homes in 1914 In 1914 only about 20% of the population of Britain was middle class. (To be considered middle class you would normally need to have at least one servant). In 1914 well off people lived in very comfortable houses. However to us middle class homes would seem overcrowded with furniture, ornaments and nick-knacks. Gas fires became common in the 1880s.

Gas cookers became common in the 1890s. The electric light bulb was invented in 1879. By 1914 most towns had electric street light. However at first electric light was expensive. In 1914 the majority of middle class families still used gas for lighting their homes. By 1914 middle class people in Britain usually had bathrooms. The water was heated by gas. Middle Class Leisure in 1914 Middle class people played games like lawn tennis and snooker Board games like snakes and ladders and ludo were also popular in 1914. In 1914 bicycling was a popular sport. The safety bicycle went on sale in 1885. Bicycling clubs became common. Reading was also popular in 1914. The first Sherlock Holmes story A Study in Scarlet was published in 1887 by Arthur Conan Doyle. A new form of writing was science fiction pioneered by men like H G Wells. The Middle class were very fond of the theater. However the cinema was a new pastime although films were silent and in black and white. Around 1910 cinemas were built in many towns.

In 1914 going to the seaside was very popular with those who could afford it. Meanwhile the first cheap camera was invented in 1888 by George Eastman. Afterwards photography became a popular hobby. In 1914 middle class children in Britain had plenty of toys. They played with wood or porcelain dolls and toys like Noah's arks with wooden animals. Poor children did not have any toys. Plasticine was invented in 1897 by William Harbutt. It was first made commercially in 1900. Also in 1900 Frank Hornby invented a toy called meccano. PART TWO: THE WORKING CLASS IN 1914 For the working class in 1914 life was hard and terrible poverty was common. Nevertheless life was improving and certain reforms were introduced around that time. Poverty in Britain in 1914 At the beginning of the 20th century surveys showed that 25% of the population of Britain were living in poverty. They found that at least 15% were living at subsistence level. They had just enough money for food, rent, fuel and clothes.

They could not afford 'luxuries' such as newspapers or public transport. About 10% were living in below subsistence level and could not afford an adequate diet. The surveys found that the main cause of poverty was low wages. The main cause of extreme poverty was the loss of the main breadwinner. If dad was dead, ill or unemployed it was a disaster. Mum might get a job but women were paid much lower wages than men. Surveys also found that poverty tended to go in a cycle. Working class people might live in poverty when they were children but things usually improved when they left work and found a job. However when they married and had children things would take a turn for the worse. Their wages might be enough to support a single man comfortably but not enough to support a wife and children too. However when the children grew old enough to work things would improve again. Finally, when he was old a worker might find it hard to find work, except the most low paid kind and be driven into poverty again. A Liberal government was elected in 1906 and they made some reforms. From that year poor children were given free school meals. In January 1909 the first old age pensions were paid.

They were hardly generous - only 5 shillings a week, which was a paltry sum even in those days and they were only paid to people over 70. Nevertheless it was a start. Also in 1909 the government formed wages councils. In those days some people worked in the so-called 'sweated industries' such as making clothes and they were very poorly paid and had to work extremely long hours just to survive. The wages councils set minimum pay levels for certain industries. In 1910 the first labour exchanges where jobs were advertised were set up. However the economy was stable in the years 1900-1914 and unemployment was fairly low. Nevertheless in 1911 the government passed an act establishing sickness benefits for workers. The act also provided unemployment benefit for workers in certain trades such as shipbuilding, where periods of unemployment were common. Meanwhile the workers had formed powerful trade unions. Working Class Homes in 1914 In 1914 a typical working class family lived in a 'two up, two down'. They had two rooms downstairs and two upstairs. The downstairs front room was kept for best. The family kept their best furniture and ornaments in this room.

They spent most of the their time in the downstairs back room, which served as a kitchen and living room. In 1914 working class homes were lit by gas. Most working class homes had outside lavatories. From about 1900 some houses were built for skilled workers with bathrooms and inside toilets. However they were still rare in 1914. Moreover very poor families sometimes lived in just one room. Food in 1914 Food was expensive in 1914 and some working class families sat down to tea of a plate of potatoes and malnutrition was common among poor children. Food was also expensive. In 1914 a working class family spent about 60% of their income on food. Moreover sweets were a luxury in 1914. However for those who could afford it new types of biscuit were available. The Digestive was invented in 1892. Custard creams were invented in 1908 and Bourbons were invented in 1910. Transport in 1914 In 1914 railways were the main form of overland transport. Cars were very rare although number plates were introduced in 1903.

The same year a 20 MPH speed limit was introduced. Most towns had electric trams. In many towns by 1914 there were also motor buses. Working Class Leisure in 1914 In 1900 the average working week in Britain was 54 hours. By then many people only worked half a day on Saturday. Skilled workers often had paid holidays but most people only had bank holidays. Nevertheless the working class were starting to have more leisure time and football matches became a popular pastime. Many towns had free public libraries. Newspapers also became much more common. The Daily Mail was first published in 1896, The Daily Express was first published in 1900 and the Daily Mirror began publication in 1903. By 1914 life expectancy in Britain was about 50 for a man and about 54 for a woman. 85/2595 Toy, Meccano Set No.6, metal, Meccano, England, c.1915 - Powerhouse Museum Collection History Notes include facts about what has happened to an object since manufacture. This could include who owned it and how it was used (provenance).

It may also describe any cultural meanings with which it may have become associated. History notes Meccano was created by Frank Hornby (1863-1936), an amateur inventor and book-keeper employed by a meat importer in Liverpool, England, almost by accident on a train journey in 1900. Hornby is quoted as saying: "One Christmas Eve I was travelling from London to Birmingham to spend the holiday with a relation who had some children. I had been wondering on the way there what I could do to amuse them. The train stopped �? opposite a goods yard and there was a small crane there. It occurred to me that I could make a crane like that for children using strips of steel. I sat in the carriage dreaming about it." Hornby soon made the first components in his workshop at home and even borrowed £5 from his employer for the patent registration fee in 1901. The first Meccano was sold in boxed kits as "Mechanics Made Easy" and appeared ready for Christmas the same year.

A move into slightly larger premises in James Street, Liverpool, in partnership with his boss and investor, David Elliott, enabled Hornby to concentrate on improving and marketing the kits in his spare time. It wasn't until 1907 that Hornby could afford financially to work on Meccano full time and the name Meccano was first used. The company went from strength to strength and the kits grew in size. In 1910 the Hornby System of Mechanical Demonstration was introduced in English schools and from 1912 Meccano (France) Ltd was established in Paris while the German toy manufacturer, Märklin, made it under licence and introduced the clockwork motor. The First World War stopped the supply of Märklin clockwork motors and American-built 4-volt electric motors were subsequently provided. In 1914 the English factory moved to the famous address familiar to generations of children all over the world, Meccano Ltd, Binns Road, Liverpool, 13, England, where they were to stay for the next 60 years.

English and overseas model-building competitions were initiated by Hornby in 1915 and the first issue of the Meccano Magazine appeared in 1916. Published monthly, the magazine described new models and parts, model building competitions and articles about railways, electricity, inventors and the latest engineering and transport developments. The company exported to many countries such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India and other parts of the British Commonwealth. Clubs were formed under the guidance of Meccano's Guild Secretary in Liverpool. Each had an adult leader but the positions of Secretary, Treasurer and other officials were held by boys and as far as possible and clubs were conducted by boys. Special awards were given to members for good work in connection with their club and medallions awarded for recruiting members. Meccano also conducted a correspondence service where boys could write to the factory with problems and comments and these were answered personally by Meccano staff. For individual boys unable to join clubs, the worldwide Meccano Guild and Correspondence Club were founded in 1919.

Started at the request of "Meccano boys", its objective was to "bring boys together and to make them feel that they are all members of a great brotherhood, each trying to help others to get the very best out of life'. Membership was open to every boy who possessed a Meccano outfit or Hornby train set. Members all over the world wore an enamelled blue and white Guild badge in the lapel of their coats! Years later, in the unrest of the 1930s, membership of the Meccano Guild was spoken of as a junior version of the League of Nations. In an early commercial tie-in, the Jaeger clothing manufacturer produced socks and jumpers with the famous chequerboard patterns as worn by the boys in Meccano advertising. These were advertised as "The 1929 Jaeger Meccano Jersey." Meccano manufacture was halted during the Second World War and did not resume until 1950. Television and later Lego took traditional Meccano markets. Nevertheless, new parts were introduced together with instruction manuals with exploded diagrams.

Plastic Meccano was used in primary schools while a last attempt saw the range come in Space Age Meccano and miniature monsters known as Meccanoids. By 1964 the firm, like many others was in financial difficulties struggling with high labour costs and different, newer competitors producing cheaper toys, usually in plastic. The firm was taken over by the Lines brothers, and their Tri-ang range of toys. The Meccano Magazine ceased in 1967 but Frank Hornby's legacy did not end there as the first adult Meccano Club was formed in 1968. In the 1970s the company became part of the Airfix group but the closure of the Liverpool factory in 1979 ended the manufacture of English-built Meccano. The factory was demolished the following year. In its heyday, Meccano stimulated generations of boys to take up technical careers and was without doubt the finest engineering construction toy ever devised. Meccano is still made today in South America and available in Australia in hobby and electrical shops although it is now in the hands of adult enthusiasts, it has been revitalised with numerous Meccano Clubs, exhibitions and newsletters around the world achieving almost cult status.

The Internet has also ensured the continued exchange of ideas with more intricate and ingenious models being made than ever before.

Question: Who invented Meccano in 1900?
Answer: Frank Hornby